So There Was a Plan All Along
December 31st arrived—the last day of the year.
Even on that final day, the world kept turning. Of course it did. Just because it was the last day of the year didn’t mean tomorrow wouldn’t come.
Our classroom, though, had a slightly different atmosphere than usual.
Obviously. Next year would be the new year, and we would be third-years.
Senior year—the year when you had to show the culmination of roughly twelve years of studying, ever since first grade of elementary school.
That importance alone made everyone more sensitive during this period.
Yet amid that tense atmosphere, there was one person who remained completely at peace… the top student of the liberal arts track.
Rustle… rustle…
There she was, as always: Im Lua, the school’s number one, diligently studying as she read her textbook.
Only I knew how hilarious this picture was.
Lua Im, who had no intention of going to college, was studying her heart out, while most of the other kids—who really needed to be serious about college admissions—were still just trying to play around even in this atmosphere.
I wasn’t about to criticize either side. You couldn’t fault Lua for studying hard even without college plans, and you couldn’t fault the others for wanting to enjoy their current freedom even though they needed to get into college.
It was just that, knowing the whole situation, I found the entire scene funny. Purely and simply.
Then the person sitting behind me spoke up.
“Ugh, that’s gross.”
“…What is it, Jihye Kim?”
Jihye Kim, who I could now call a new friend—aside from Lua and the other guys—had just said “that’s gross.”
What bad thing had I done this time? I figured I might as well hear her out…
“You were just smiling in a gross way.”
It was pure baseless accusation.
“What kind of creative baseless accusation is that?”
“I mean it. You were smiling all gross. Lua is pretty, though.”
“Why are we talking about Lua all of a sudden?”
“You were looking at Lua and smiling, you know? Feeling good seeing your girlfriend? The whole world’s all Pinkfong just for you two, huh?”
I was speechless. In so many ways.
“Who’s my girlfriend?”
“Lua’s your girlfriend, right?”
“You wouldn’t listen even if I said no, would you?”
“Of course not.”
She was so confident it was beyond ridiculous at this point.
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Sure, sure~ Whatever you say~ So, you’re going to switch to the seat next to Lua again today, right?”
At those words I hesitated, then nodded.
The girl who swapped with me was friends with the girl next to me anyway, and no one complained when we switched.
So why not switch?
“Ugh, just go off and do your dating thing.”
“We’re not dating. If you’re going to keep going on about dating, you should date someone yourself.”
“I have to study, you know? And as I keep saying, I like older guys, so dating’s pretty much over for me now.”
“Why?”
“We’re third-years. Older guys are adults now—it’s a bit awkward, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
For reference, Jihye Kim had been saying she wanted to go to a teachers’ college nonstop. I clearly remembered her talking about wanting to go to a teachers’ college since the start of the semester.
Well then, she had to study.
Since she couldn’t cross the wall between adults and minors, the only thing Jihye Kim could do was study.
Nodding, I naturally stood up from my seat and switched places to sit next to Lua Im today as well.
And the moment I got next to her, I stared right at Lua and opened my mouth.
“Excuse me, Miss Im Lua.”
“…What.”
What? I thought she was focused on studying, but she’d been aware of her surroundings.
“You knew I was coming?”
“No, I knew because you spoke.”
“You’re awfully calm for that.”
“I figured you’d come today too.”
Hearing that made me feel a bit strange.
Did that mean she’d been waiting for me?
No, overinterpreting like that wasn’t good. Yeah, absolutely not good.
With the resolve not to misunderstand, I asked Lua a question.
“Hey, Lua.”
“What.”
“Maybe…”
“Maybe?”
How should I even put this? Or rather, what question should I ask her in the first place after calling her over?
After thinking, I finally spoke.
“Why do you study so hard?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“…Exactly what I said. Honestly, you don’t need to study that hard, right?”
At those words, Lua set down her pen.
Worried I might have made a big mistake with that action, I spoke as if making an excuse.
“No, I mean, it’s not like I meant anything else by it…”
“Not?”
“……I was just purely curious.”
At my question, Lua blinked, then answered in a small voice.
“…High school studies are something you need for living life, so I do them.”
“…Do you really need them?”
“You do. And it’s not just the content that’s necessary. While studying, I end up thinking about things—that’s necessary too.”
For a moment, it felt like I was talking to some old person much older than me.
“…How old are you, really? Be honest.”
“What are you talking about. I got that advice from someone too.”
“From who?”
“Her last name is M…mph.”
That name just now, could it be…
“Mei?”
“Shut up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Lua Im was roasting me as naturally as breathing now.
She hadn’t originally been this clumsy of a person… how did she end up like this?
I couldn’t understand it, but on the other hand I was secretly grateful.
It meant she felt that comfortable around me.
“Lua.”
“What.”
“…I should study a bit too.”
“Need any help?”
“I’ll ask as we go.”
“Oki.”
And so, while all the other kids were playing around, Lua and I became the two oblivious people studying.
Of course our classmates weren’t the type to take our lead and study with us; they just started doing their own thing and playing as they pleased.
It was a bit noisy, but that somehow felt like ASMR and helped the studying, as a bonus.
Anyway, the last day of our year passed by with studying like that.
Or rather, it was supposed to.
After school, while we were walking side by side.
Words I had absolutely never wanted to come out of Lua’s mouth came out.
“Jinwoo.”
“Yeah?”
“…Have you thought about it?”
“About what.”
“Being my editor. Doing it for me.”
……That was just “think about it,” right?
Not an empty promise, but something she was saying seriously right now?
I spun my brain as fast as I could.
She’d asked so suddenly that I had no idea what to say.
In the end, as I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly, Lua smiled bitterly.
“…Sorry, I asked for too much, didn’t I?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Not that?”
“……My editing skills are still lacking.”
In the end, I ended up lying.
To be honest, I had a fair amount of confidence in my video editing skills.
I thought I was in the top 1% among my peers.
Even so, this excuse seemed like the best one, so I went with it.
Hearing that excuse, Lua looked at me without the slightest hesitation…
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
She hit me with the “I’ll be the judge of that” line.
It was cool. Really cool. Seriously insanely cool.
But…
Of all times, she had to say something that cool in this situation?
As I kept reading Lua’s expression, she finally delivered her ultimatum.
“Jinwoo, I really want you to be my editor. So could you edit just one of my streams and send it to me? I’ll compensate you properly.”
“…Give me time to think.”
“Time to think?”
“Yeah….”
“…Alright, but I can’t give you too long.”
“Why?”
To my question, Lua said something I hadn’t expected.
“…Because I need to find a new editor.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t tell anyone, but my channel’s editor is transferring at the end of this month. So I have to find a new one.”
“So…”
“Yeah, that’s why I asked you.”
……I see.
Hmm, so that’s how it was.
………Wait a second.
Then, if I play this right, wouldn’t this work out?
After thinking it over briefly, I nodded to Lua.
“Got it.”
“Got what?”
“I’ll contact you later.”
With that, I headed straight home.
Then I went right into my room and messaged the Representative on CocoaTalk.
After that I spoke as politely as I could, carefully excluding any red-pill details about Lua.
‘If possible, I would like to become Kuroa Ruru’s editor.’
And the reply was truly unexpected.
……So you had a plan for everything. All praise to you, Representative.
Great, all my worries were over.
Then… hmm…
……Sorry to Lua, but I’ll just keep my mouth shut for about a year.
I might get chewed out ten times, or twenty, but this seems like the way that can pass without the most trouble.
Sorry, Lua!